Unless you have extremely demanding applications, the Axe-FX II is overkill, without a doubt.  That said, Line 6 dropped the ball when they designed the HD500 as their "top of the line" modeler.  There should have had more horsepower and more flexibility.  It seems to me that many gigging guitarists want something in the middle.  Ease of use and affordability of Line 6, with more power and flexibility.  To that end, Line 6 should have released something in the $1,000 range with A LOT more processing power and more FX chain options.and slots.  Additional wishes for an upgraded Line 6 HDxxxx model would include:  better compressor choices, a real 7 band (or more) EQ, impulse cabs.  I'm sure others could add to this list.

I believe that there are many musicians, like me, who will not consider spending$3000+ for a practical Axe-FX gigging system, but who find the HD500 a large dissapointment, and just not enough.  I am not saying that the Hd500 is not worth the purchase price.  I am saying that Line 6 should have stepped it up an notch.

There needs to be something in the upper middle market space.  That's where both Line 6 and Fractal Audio are missing opportunity.

Honestly, I cannot purchase the HD500.  Sound quality aside, it seems like a step down from my X3L.  Show me an HD800 or even an HD1K and I might be impressed enough to buy one.

I don't have a problem with my gear not being the most awesome.  Axe-FX II, for me, is over-the-top overkill!  At some point you reach diminishing returns.  Consider also how much of your tone is in your hands, and even in your pick and picking technique.  I'm amazed at how much better my "tone" has gotten over the last year as my playing has improved, with very little change at all to my X3L patches.

My concern with an HD "Pro" unit is they will just repackage the HD500 in a rack mount form factor with a few better connectivity options.  This is what Line 6 has typically done in the past with their "Pro" models.  For me, this simply will not cut it!

Let's just hope they're learning from those mistakes and actually put more effort into it!

3.  If you wanted to try a Standard or Ultra, now's your chance.  The used market will be saturated and you'll pick those up for cheap.  Especially with the AXEII coming in at just $200 more than the Ultra.

Looks like the rush to offload the old Axe FXs is starting already. This was listed on my local Craigslist just this morning.

Karl_Houseknecht wrote:

  As for recording and modelers, you don't need a modeling solution that costs as much as a real amp to have it sound like one.

Excuse me sir,  thats not the main point of buying it.  It is mainly for home recording people who want close enough guitar sound to a real amp but who cannot afford to have expensive isolated and soundproofed recording rooms designed for acoustics with all these expensive diffusors and absorbers, nor a bunch of expensive mics, or a neve 1081 preamp, nor the Studer A80 mk3 tape machine -  all of which can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

You can bet any money any day that a person is going to get better sound out of even an Axe FX first generation (never mind the 2 which is supposed to be a noticeable improvement)  than they ever are with their home basement recording space that has questionable acoustics, and an entry level mic preamp and other questionable gear.  There is no chance in hell.  Not even with the best of skilled engineers.   The only way you can surpass the sound of even an Axe FX 1 is by recording in a real pro studio through proper gear AND with the right engineer.   But if the Axe 2 is supposed to be a significant improvement then, chances are it might even sound better than the real thing. (Just like what they did with the Access Virus synthesizer which is DSP yet destroys real analog synthesizers).

And also because people want to avoid the hassle of carrying all this heavy equipment around to live gigs, or those who are skeptical (for good reason) of how the live miking techniques (and their mixers) are going to be at any particular venue.

So I am not sure if you are understanding but even the Axe FX 2 is not supposed to model the feel of being beside a real amp.  Its supposed to model the studio signal chain of a real amp in a recording space, with a mic (or more) in front of it, modeling the transduction process with new extremely high resolution IRs, modeling the signal through a preamp - and thats what you present to your converter. (and with the new one USB direct).  Alot more efficient and better than miking real amps in a questionable  home basement studio if you ask me.

FarBeyond3 wrote:

 

So I am not sure if you are understanding but even the Axe FX 2 is not supposed to model the feel of being beside a real amp.  Its supposed to model the studio signal chain of a real amp in a recording space, with a mic (or more) in front of it, modeling the transduction process with new extremely high resolution IRs, modeling the signal through a preamp - and thats what you present to your converter.

Yeah, I get the feeling that maybe Karl does know that.

Almost sold mine about a month ago for economic reasons.  Couldn't find a suitable replacement.  Decided just to keep it.  Even though its old and vintage now it still does what I need better than any other solution out there.  Got another firmware update yesterday though.  Sounds as great today as yesterday, works the same.  Won't be selling it any time soon.  It will be interesting to see where the dust settles over the coming months with regards to resale prices.